Muses of Aincrad
by Temple Light
Summary: The opportunity of a lifetime greets μ's as the school idol group receives a multi-million yen endorsement from the Argus corporation in exchange for promoting and participating in their highly anticipated VRMMO Sword Art Online. As they find themselves trapped in Kaiyaba's death game, will μ's be able to survive to the top level, or will the peril they face sunder them apart.


Chapter 1: Strange Sponsorship

*CRASH*

The door slammed into the wall as a young Japanese schoolgirl burst into the clubroom where all of her friends would gather before their warmups. Ordinarily, this young lady would be the last of her friends to arrive in the room, as she would normally be either arriving in late from oversleeping or trying to sneak half of the school's bread snack supply out of the cafeteria. Today however was not one of those days. There was big news, no huge news, no ginormous news that needed to be shared. The kind of news, that would change the face of their friends lives forever. Yes indeed, today was going to be a very special day for Kousaka Honoka, and nothing was going to stand in her way of proving that to her friends.

"GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!", Honoka cheerfully yelled out as she burst into the room.

Everyone had stopped what they were doing, as they turned to face the commotion caused by Honoka.

"H-Honoka-chan, please be careful with the door…" One of her friends replied. Her amber eyes widened, and her ash-brunette lock frazzling as her head began calculating the possible damages they may be forced to pay for her childhood friend's recklessness this time around. It really wouldn't matter if you were the principal's daughter at that point if they had brought damage to school property.

"Sorry, Sorry Kotori. I'm just so excited! I just nailed a big opportunity for us yesterday that I need to share with you a… GUK!"

" The answer is no." Came the swift reply from Sonoda Umi, after deliviering a quick hand chop to her friend's neck. She had been down this road before with Honoka many, many times from childhood to present. The results of which, suffice to say, never ended pretty. In Umi's experience, the best way to stop Honoka from leading everyone into something stupid was to shut her down before she could convince everyone else.

"Owww. B-but Umi –chan, this is really big stuff! It could change the course of μ'sforever!" Honoka desperately pleaded, hoping to dissuade her otherwise stoic friend from shutting her down. She even pulled out her best puppy dog face to bare.

"Even more reason to say no, Honoka. We may not have to worry about another live completion for another couple months, but the last thing we need is for you to get us involved in some tremendous fiasco!"

"Oh come on Umi-chan, that isn't fair! Since when have I ever leaded us astray?"

A deathly silence filled the room as everyone seemed to consider there next words carefully.

"U-uhm w-well, how should I put this…" The shy voice of her underclassman, Koizumi Hanayo attempted to break the silence. Only to be interrupted by a far blunter voice.

"Do you really want us to answer that question?" came the blunt reply of another junior, who could be seen twirling her wavy hair between her fingers. Known for her deep red hair, her pragmatic personality, and her reputation in the group as the resident tsundere, Nishikino Maki was seldom known for taking a tactful approach to expressing her opinion, and today was no exception.

"Oh come on it wasn't all that bad."

"You deliberately forwent our hotel reservations for the Ski Trip. The reservations I specifically entrusted in you to make." reminded the voice of the former Student Council President, Ayase Eli. Taking the big sister role for the group, Eli often found herself as the person handling most of the business transactions that μ's needed to make with the outside world. She had hoped that by letting Honoka handle The hotel reservations for the trip, in what she hoped would help Honoka handle herself more professionally, proved to be a considerable lapse in her judgement.

"Hey that worked out in the end! We even got to stay in that nice hot spring resort" Honoka replied defensively, as if the fact that the situation resolved itself undoes any mistake she made on her part.

"Yeah but if they didn't have a room we would have frozen to death on the slopes." Maki retorted.

"No we wouldn't have," Honoka insisted, "we would have had the igloo to protect us."

"You can't build an igloo in 3 hours Honoka!" Umi cried in exasperated.

"Plus where would we shower-nya?" Rin cried.

"Or sleep?" Maki added.

"Or EAT?!" Hanayo wailed.

"Alright I get it, but that was one time I screwed up." Honoka finally conceded, before trying to silver line that incident.

"You also nearly got us kicked out of the Love Live competition because you cheated on your diet for a week!" Maki reminded her.

"Eh?!" Honoka responded incredulously, "I wasn't the only one doing that and you know it!"

"Y-YOU SEDUCED ME WITH THE PROMISE OF COOKED RICE!" Hanayo screamed in protest, as she remembered how Honoka took advantage of her love of white rice in order to skip out on their workout routine and diet. The result of which led them to pick up several kilos, only days away from the final preliminaries. To say that Umi was livid with both of them at the time was an understatement.

"To be fair the meals were really good though, no Kayo-chan?"

"HONOKA-CHAN!" Hanayo wailed once more.

"Okay, okay. But what about the guerilla concert at the pool. That was a smashing success."

"Yeah. Except the reason we got that standing ovation wasn't because of our performance, but because Kotori's swimsuit top malfunctioned and fell off at the end of our encore number." Umi replied in frustration.

"That was so embarrassing. It took me 3 days to get the courage to go back to school after that."

Kotori was doing her best to contain the blush creeping all over as she recalled the horrors that the concert had brought, not to mention the numerous tabloids that ran afterwards with her unsheathed breasts on full display. The only blessing that came from that fiasco was that they had managed to convince the people in charge of the Love Live competition not to kick them off the roster of the contest for this accidental indiscretion.

"Eh, but it was quite the show no, Kotori-chan? We learned so much about ourselves, as did our fans that day: Both in our ability as Idols to make people smile in any circumstance, and in regards to your personal cup size. Ehehe."

The retort came the mischievous response response of Tojou Nozomi, the resident shrine girl and spiritual center of μ's. For most that see Nozomi the idol, she is the quintessential shrine girl; she was pious, pure, and a motherly beacon of wisdom to all who met her. Those who knew her personally however, particularly in μ's, knew how far the real Nozomi was from the image she cultivated on stage.  
"The last thing Kotori needs to hear is you joking around about that indecent incident Nozomi!" Umi angrily retorted.  
"Ufufu, my, my, you're getting awfully defensive about others leering at Kotori."

Umi felt a small bit of dread as she began to run through every conceivable angle Nozomi might try to pull this over on her. However she did her best to keep her usual stoic expression in check.

"I'd do the same for any of my friends Nozomi."

"Oh really? Then I suppose if it were Nicochi's breasts that were on display, you would be standing up for her as well?"

"YOU LEAVE MY BREASTS OUT OF THIS FOR ONCE; YOU GROPE HAPPY BOOB-MONSTER!" Came the shrill reply of Yazawa Nico, the self-proclaimed "super idol" of μ's. Having been on the receiving end of Nozomi's more perverse antics, such as her patented washi-washi treatment, the idea of her breasts (or lack thereof) becoming the butt of Nozomi's jokes was anything but a laughing matter to her.

Umi on the other hand, couldn't even find the words to respond.

"No Response? Hmm I wonder… Is it because you want to hoard our little bird for yourself, or is it that you wish somebody would give your breasts some loving too. I can always give your assets my patented washi-washi treatment if you want me too..."

A mischievous grin began to plaster all over Nozomi's face, as her hands began to reach the side of her face, making a rough gripping motion. Umi was not amused however. Not by the implications about her and Kotori's "relationship", and certainly not about her being the victim of Nozomi's infamous washi-washi treatments. Fortunately, she knew exactly how to shut Nozomi down before she got ahead of her.

"Touch my breasts, and not a single one of your fingers will be able to hold your precious cards ever again."

Nozomi was known for many things: Her spirituality, her insightfulness, her deviousness, and her willingness to forgo any sensible course of action for a good laugh. The one thing she was not however, was stupid. She knew Umi was serious about what she was saying. Of the many things that should be taken into account when dealing with Umi, there was one cardinal rule you must always heed: Umi didn't deal in making threats, she made promises.

"Ehehe, you know I was just kidding right, Umi-chan?" Nozomi nervously said, as she tried to contain the rain of bullets she was persperating at the moment.

"That's what I thought."

"Ugh. It's way too early in the week to deal with you girl's peppiness for bickering," Nico groaned, immensely frustrated with the way the conversation had evolved. Though often poked fun at for childish stature and personality, when it came to her idol career she took no patience for others' antics.

"Look I really don't give a shit how much you want to complain about each other's behavior, but I just got done with my entrance exams last week and I am still freaking exhausted. Now Honoka may come up with a lot of crazy ideas, but they usually haven't led us astray when it comes to μ's's future. Heck if it wasn't for her crackpot idea to form an idol group out of nowhere, none of us would be here."

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement, looking back at one another. While most of the members had known at least one of the others for some time, it was only because of Honoka's persistence in forming μ's that the group was brought together. On top of that no one could doubt that Honoka's willingness to take risk likely contributed to their immensely unlikely rise to fame, let alone making it in to the very finals of the Love Live competition.

"Besides," Nico continued, "the more you ignore her, the more persistent she is going to get in pestering us to listen. So if for nothing else, let's just give Honoka her time to speak so she doesn't have to bother us with her dumb idea later."

"Thanks for sticking up for me Nico-chan, I owe you o- EH?! Wait, what do you mean my idea is dumb? You haven't even heard it yet!" Honoka said, realizing on the fly what Nico's words meant to imply.

"Just shut up, and tell us!" Everyone shouted, ready to have this nonsense out of the way.

Honoka straightened herself as tall as she could, and put her best determined face on.

"Okay. μ's! Listen up!"

All eyes and ears went attentively to Honoka as they braced themselves for the worst. What came next left them in shock.

" _We have been sponsored~_

 _no more room left for small time~_

 _it is time we made our first step into the realm of the pros._

 _We have been Sponsored~_

 _As we march towards our new life~_

 _Our first stop on our way will be to cash in… Fifty Million Yen~"_

Honoka sang aloud to the tune of Aishiteru Banzai's chorus line.

The rest of μ's stood there gaping at her as the gravity of Honoka's revelation began to reverberate, before a resounding "EEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" filled the room.

"N-no way…"

"H-How?"

"When?"

"W-We got sponsored?"

"FOR FIFTY MILLION YEN?!" Niko screamed, her eyes threatening to bulge out of her sockets.

"Mmm!" Honoka nodded eagerly.

Nozomi placed her hands on Honaka shoulders and spun her around so that they were face to face.

"Honokachi, be completely honest with me. Who did you have sex with to give you this much money?"

"E-EHHH?!" Honoka Screamed, horrified at what Nozomi was accusing her of doing. Like most Japanese girls of her age, Honoka was lead to believe sex was supposed to be something of a sacred thing. What Nozomi was accusing her of was not only impious; it was downright immoral in their society.

"It's okay Honokachi we won't judge you for what you did for the good of μ's." Nozomi continued egging her on, enjoying every moment she could deepen Honoka's reddening cheeks. Umi on the other hand was doing her best not to lose consciousness as she leaned onto a nearby table.

"H-How could you-Sh-Shameless." She whispered loudly.

"Ehehe, well most of us anyway." Nozomi chuckled.

"I-I didn't have sex with anyone!" Honoka sputtered out, as the stares everyone was giving her began to break her resolve.

"Oh so you stripped for him huh? Oh Honokachi, what happened to that pure maiden whose only concern in life was when her next bread serving would come?" Nozomi cried dramatically, placing the back of her hand onto her forehead, as if to communicate her great dismay at Honoka's actions.

Honoka on the other hand, was sputtering on every word she could think to use. This situation felt more bizarre than any manga scene she had ever read, "proper" or otherwise, and the rush of blood her face was feeling was not helping her calm down in the slightest. It wasn't helping either that everyone was beginning to clamor around her asking about her "affair" either. Everyone, that is, except Eli. Deciding she needed to be the mature one of the bunch, she did her best to separate everyone from Honoka.

"Alright that's enough everyone, give Honoka some space" Eli shouted out to the rest of μ's. While she didn't have the authoritarian bend that Umi carried, Eli had enough respect to her leadership in the group for them to heed her requests with little complaint. The only person she would have trouble convincing was Nozomi.

"Nozomi, I think Honoka has been through enough of your games for one day." Eli told her

"Eh? But I'm only having fun Eli-chi."

"Maybe you are Nozomi," Eli remarked, "but she clearly isn't comfortable with you insinuating she's had some sordid affair. Listen, I promise to do something special for you later if you promise to ease up on Honoka until she can explain what happened. Can you do that Nozomi?"

Nozomi stared at her blonde friend, as she weighed her options. On the one hand she loved teasing everyone in μ's, and she could not have asked for a better opportunity to tease the living daylights out of Honoka. On the other hand, the promise of a reward from her quarter-Russian girlfriend was so tantalizing, it threatened to overpower her. Finally she closed her eyes and gave her answer.

"Alright I'll stop teasing her for you, my dear." Nozomi promised sincerely.

"Thank you Nozomi," Eli replied, relief apparent in both her tone and expression.

Nozomi leaned next to Eli's ear and whispered

"I'll be expecting to collect my reward for my good behavior tonight though, Eli-chi. I hope you have plenty of whipped cream in your fridge."

"Nozomi, please not in front of everyone…" Eli pleaded.

"Oh god, get a room you two!" Nico screamed, "It's already insufferable enough that you both decided to confess to each other while we were recording Garden of Glass. At least have the decency to keep your love life in private."

"Hmmm? Seems like you have some sexual frustration you need to resolve there, Nicochi…" Nozomi snickered, "You're free to join us if you'd like, and we aren't picky like someone you fancy…"

"N-NOZOMI!" Eli screamed in dismay at what her girlfriend had suggested.

"W-Why you …." Nico replied as her cheeks reddened with embarrassment and anger.

Umi considered breaking up the latest distraction that had emerged in the group. Ultimately, she decided it was best not to intervene in the argument erupting between the three. They would tune back in once Honoka starts speaking eventually.

"Alright Honoka, can you tell us about how you managed to get a deal this big?"

So, it all started when this guy visited my house yesterday-"

* * *

 _The Day Before_ ….

It was a bright Sunday morning when a man in a matte black suit approached the door to the Kousaka residence and Sweets store. His hair was meticulously cut to match the season's latest trends, and his glasses framed just thin enough to make him look experienced, while sharp enough to leave an impression on those who met with him. His piercing blue eyes met the nameplate of the residence; tracing his fingers over the letters before bringing his focus onto the house itself. The residence was a relic of a bygone era, though had gone through considerable modification over the years to keep it livable in the modern era. The house was unique however in that served as both the Kousaka's abode, and their primary source of income. Having inherited both their living space and the business from its previous owner, the Kousakas had worked diligently to maintain the quality of service that their predecessor set while keeping it a place that was habitable both for themselves and their customers. By all expectations that could be set, they had thoroughly succeeded in that regard. To any outside observer, it would have looked like the business was a real estate investor looking to buy the area to replace it with a newer apartment complex. He had no interest in the property what so ever; he was far more interested in the person inside of the house. Not wanting to delay himself forward, he moved over to the telecom system on the side of the door, and rang for an answer.

"Hello?" a voice came from the speaker.

"Greetings Kousaka-san, I hope I'm not intruding on you today."

"No worries, although if you came to pick up some sweets to go with your tea, you may want to come back tomorrow, today the shop is closed." replied the voice.

"Actually sir I am here on business that does not involve confectionaries."

The line

"Well, I'm sorry to say I'm not interested in selling my restaurant to some family chain, nor am I going to sell this property so you can develop it."

"Perhaps I should clarify then Kousaka-san my purpose in being here. My business is not with you today, aside from some forms of consent. No my business is with your daughter."

It was at this point whatever mirth Mr. Kousaka had appeared to hold with the business man at this point was lost. However he was not about to throw the man off his property without an explanation, his business still had to uphold its reputation for hospitality afterall, and an outburst right now could be disastrous. That said he was not about to throw his 16 year old daughter to the wolves, because some pencil pusher is demanding an audience with her alone. No, he was going to get his answers first.

"What has my daughter done to earn your interest? No offense, but I don't think men past their primes like ourselves usually go looking for high school girls unless they think they have something they can exploit."

"Perceptive of you Kousaka-san, you are as good of a parent as you are a businessman. However my intentions with your daughter are purely professional. I am sure you are aware of her position in μ's."

"Ah, you mean that idol band she put together with her school friends? I was under the impression she was doing that for fun."

"Perhaps it began that way, but it's become a lot more than that. Aside from A-Rise, μ's has become the hottest left-field sensation the music world has seen in many years. A lot of speculation has been swirling around in the media as to whether they are going to take it to their group to the professional level."

"Professional? Sir they are still in high school. I love my daughter, but I don't think she is ready for…"

"Of course. Their education must come first, but if they are serious about taking this group of theirs further they are going to need to understand how to… conduct themselves professionally. We would like to extend that opportunity to her."

"You are certain this won't interfere with her schooling."

"No more than I can assume her current schedule does."

The line went quite for several moments, before a click came and the line went dead. Sighing, the man prepared to turn and report his failure in negotiating with Kousaka. that was until he heard a young girl's voice from inside the house.

"Wait, don't go yet! WAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" The voice crescendoed until the sound of somebody tripping and crashing could be heard as something or rather someone slammed itself into the door.

"Owwww." The voice's muffled groan could be heard from behind the door.

* * *

"So what happened after that, Honoka-chan?"

"Uhm well my head was still kinda woozy, and he was speaking about some really complicated legal stuff, so I don't remember most of it…" Honoka replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head in Embaressement.

Umi was doing her best to resist the urge to face palm.

"Why am I not surprised…"

"Buuuuuuuuut…" Honoka continued, "I remember the important bits. You see, his company was really really impressed with μ's's performance during the love live competitions, and so they wanted to support us through the rest of the competition!"

"By giving us fifty million yen?" Eli asked, still unsure if she could believe what she was hearing.

"Mmm." Honoka nodded, "Plus an additional 3 million yen allowance every month."

"T-that's a lot of money-nya!" Rin exclaimed.

"We could put that money into better materials for our costumes…" Kotori noted, already vividly imagining a whole new array of costumes they could have at our final concerts.

"Or we could put it toward new stage equipment. Our mics have been giving out on us occasionally when we've been performing." Eli replied.

"Or our own recording studio." Maki suggested, "That way we can get our music recorded based on our own schedules, and we can take the time to record our singles, rather than rushing through the recording so that we don't get kicked out for over running our reservation again."

"Or maybe we could put it to some cameras!" Hanayo suggested, "I'm sure if we figured how to shoot our own music videos we could use it to tell stories people could relate too. I have seen a couple of professional idol groups do that."

"Or we could put them into push up bras for everyone!" Nozomi cried out, only to be greeted to a room of death glare.

"Well I like my idea…" She huffed.

While the rest of μ's was debating how to use the money to benefit the group, Nico sat in her chair contemplating her family's financial situation. For most of her life, she and her family lived just above the poverty line. She and her siblings were the children of a single mother whose jerk-ass husband had left them years ago. Since then the Yazawas had to struggle to make enough for rent and decent food, let alone invest for their future. It was a reality that forced her to grow up far faster than she should have, in order to make sure her little siblings would not have to feel the worst their situation put their family through. This was one of the many reasons she put so much effort into becoming an idol. It wasn't just because she enjoyed making people smile; it was because she wanted to leave a future behind for her little sisters. Where the rest of μ's saw an opportunity to expand their productivity, she saw the future of her sisters. With that money she could pay her sisters' way through college, put food on the table for months (if not years), or invest it in a rainy day fund for her mother to use in case her career went bottom up.

However deep down, Nico knew she couldn't take that money for herself. She couldn't do that to her friends, who had played an equal role in their music career reaching the heights she could only dream of reaching eight months ago. Moreover it wasn't her money to begin with, it was Honoka's, and their benevolent leader was sharing with the rest of μ's as a symbol of her appreciation. And while Nico often comes across as childish and self-centered, she had more than enough integrity to not broach her friend's trust and to do the right thing. Taking a defeated sigh, she decided to continue the group's query herself.

"Did the guy have any demands of his own?" Nico asked as everyone's head spun around towards her.

"Come on you guys," Nico continued, "I know you're not that dumb. You think somebody just gives you fifty million yen because he feels generous? No they always want a favor, so come on Honoka, what did his bosses want?"

"Uhm let me think," Honoka replied, placing her finger on lips as she tried to recall what the conditions of their agreement. "I think he mentioned something about advertising shoots, and putting some time into this VR game they were making."

"A VR game?" Umi replied.

"Mmm. They say there are going to celebrate it with this huge RPG launch to kick off the sales!"

"So its just a fancy video game company? Well I suppose there could have been endorsements from worse places." Maki noted dispassionately, though she had to admit to herself she was curious as to why an obscure Video Game company would want with an idol group still in the depths of high school.

"So did you happen to catch the name of the company?"

"Well no, but he did mention that the head of the company was some guy named kaya… kaya…"

Honoka struggled with all her might to remember the name.

"Kayabuki Aki-something or other."

Everyone groaned at Honoka's lack of an answer.

"I'm sorry everyone!" Honoka bowed her head in shame.

"Are you kidding me?" Eli asked, in utter disbelief.

"Honoka-chan, you really need to pay more attention, this kind of information is important." Kotori scolded her, though still trying to maintain some sympathy for her friend's position.

"S-So we don't have any way to contact these guys?" Hanayo nervously asked.  
"Wait Kayo-chan, That's what I was forgetting. I made sure to pick up a couple of these in case I forgot who I was talking to."

Honoka pulled out two business cards from her breast pocket, and shared them with Umi and Eli, praying that her gesture would manage to stave off her personal crucifixion.

"So we're good right?"

* * *

For once, fate was on Honoka's side. The rest of the meeting went pretty tame, with the rest of the meeting being spent hashing out the pros and cons of the detail, before putting the agreement up to a vote and passing 8-0, with only Hanayo abstaining from voting. Umi and Eli agreed to be the ones to make the necessary calls once school was done, and begin negotiating the finalized conditions on behalf of μ's. As the rest of μ's departed, most of them left with contented, even exuberant smiles; with dreams of a bigger future for them now just above the horizon. That was, of course, with the exception of Nico, who kept her mouth unusually quiet throughout the meeting. It's not like nobody had noticed. Nico was always the first person to be gushing over new avenues for μ's to go, so it was quite clear something was going on when she barely uttered a word through the entire meeting. However, Nico was also known to be quite volatile when asked about her personal business, so they ordinarily let Nico vent her crabbiness out on her own. Maki on the other hand, was not one to let things quietly slip past by her. No, she was the kind of woman that when problems emerge in front of her she took care of it immediately. Besides she would never leave her friends astray, and as vigorously as she might deny it to herself and others, she considered her twin-tailed senior to be one of her closest friends. As the school day came to a close, Maki decided now would be as good a time as any to talk to Nico about what happened.

' _I'm just doing this for_ μ's _'s sake.' She thought to herself, 'Get it together, Maki. It's not like your in love with her, just check in, make sure she's alright, and be done with it."_

As she opened the door to Nico's Homeroom, she saw Nico sitting at her seat next to the windowstaring into the distance; her melancholy clear as day _._

' _Just say something Maki'_ She urged herself.

"Hey, you feeling alright?" Maki asked, attempting to voice her concern. Nico, having just noticed Maki was in the room with her, did her best to hide her clearly evident depression from her underclassman.

"O-of course!" Nico replied hastily, "Why would you ask such a dumb question?! #1 Super idol Nico-Nii never feels down! See?"

She moved into her trademark idol posed, and smiled singing,

"Nico-Nico-Nii~!"

' _Alright she isn't opening up, just tell her she doesn't have to put up the brave act'_

" That smile of yours is as fake as your persona." She replied in her typical deadpan fashion, wincing internally as she realized what she had said.

' _real smooth Nishikno.'_ Maki cringed, _'That will definitely make things better'_

Nico on the other hand, guffawed at her bluntness.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK! Nico is not a fake. This is true Nico-Nii!" She protested as she began to rise from her seat with hands at her hips, "Besides it's precisely because of my adorable charm that μ's got as far as it did, isn't it?" Nico balked, not willing to stand for her underclassman's insolence.

' _You know what? Screw it'_

"Funny I figured that award went to Hanayo or Kotori." Maki retorted, a smirk was threatening to emerge from her face. Her shorter friend was not nearly as impressed.

"No, no, those two have got moe going for them; that's totally different." The twin-tailed girl scoffed dismissively "I'm the super adorable one whose childlike looks and innocence endears all who see me!"

"Oh I didn't realize that we were trying to draw in lolicons now…" Maki sarcastically replied, assured that she had just won their spat. Nico on the other hand, had other plans.

"Oh don't act like you haven't been drawing in the otaku crowd either, Maki-chan."

"Bueh? What are you insinuating exactly…" Maki scoffed, as she nervously began twirling her hair once more.

"Oh you hadn't noticed?" Nico replied, a smug grin emerging as she tasted blood in the water "Well let me spell it out for you: tsun-de-re."

"What did you call me?!" Maki roared.

"Personally, I doubt that whole tsun-tsun complex of yours is going to net you any husbands when you grow up, but it certainly has won you style points with the fans…" Nico counter punched.

"I am not a tsundere!" The red-head composer screeched.

"Yes you are." Nico insisted.

"I am not!" pouted Maki.

"If your not a tsun, then-then…" She struggled to come up with an example, so she just blurted the first thing that came to mind "Then why do you always give that moody look at me whenever I'm hanging out with Eli-chan and Nozomi-chan?"

"Buueeeh!"

Maki had to take a double take. This was not happening. She had not just let Nico take the fight to her like this.

" I-I don't know what you're talking about! Frankly, I could care less about who you bother with your insufferable cuteness."

' _Hook, line, and sinker.'_ thought Nico, as she sprung for the kill.

"Aha! So you admit that you were jealous over the great Nico-nii this whole time! Oh Maki, how very~ tsundere of you…" Nico proclaimed, pointing an accusing finger towards Maki. Sure enough her words hit their mark. Maki's face was turning Redder than the tomatoes she grew in her garden, and her hair was began growing increasingly frazzled.

"W-why-You- AAAAAAARRRRGHHHH!"

It was always like this with the two of them. No matter how often they tried to be pleasant with each other, it always would end with them bickering at each other. It didn't matter the topic; their favorite genre of music, their ideal vacation, school life, plans for the future, or even just ice cream flavors there was always an argument to be had. At first these incidents made them loathe each other, over time it had evolved into something of a game between the two of them, with neither side willing to concede dominance to the other on anything. Though they would never admit it, they enjoyed the contest they provided each other every time they interacted. They were creatures of pride after all.

"Whatever, be that way if you'd like. I don't need to deal with your bad attitude." Maki balked as she turned and began to walk away.

"Oi, Maki!"

The red-headed girl paused in her stride and turned around.

"What?"

A brief silence emerged between the two of them, before Nico finally spoke.

"Th-Thanks."

It wasn't often that Nico offered a proper thanks to others, much less towards her. To say Maki was taken aback by her senior's sincerity would be a very mild turn of phrasing.

"I-It's nothing really."

"No it is. It's just…" Nico looked for the right words to say. "Mom's had to work the overtime hours for the past two weeks, so I have been stuck trying to take care of my little syblings the past week. And well, you know what it's like at my house..."

Maki indeed did know what it's like. She was one of the few members of μ's who had any understanding of the reality of Nico's financial situation, having visited the older girl's home before. It had led to many sessions of lament for the group's composer, both for the twin-tailed girl's misfortune, and the terrible contrast it marked between the two. Maki was no fool; she knew she was born in to a position of wealth and privilege that most girls could only dream of having. She always had the best clothes, attended the best schools, received the best grades, and had been left with the best piano tutors anyone could afford. She never had to bother herself with learning how to clean her room, wash her clothes, or cook her own food; she always had servants to do that for her. Nico never knew such luxury; Her family was always in need of her, and unlike Maki she was as far from an honor student worthy of college as anyone could be. Nico had no future left for her but her idol career, and that tore at Maki like few things else could. But there wasn't anything she could really do. Even if she could offer Nico some financial assistance, she knew the older girl would likely turn it down out of pride.

"Well its nothing to worry about right now anyway. I'm heading home. Oh they are going to love to hear how their big sis is going pro!" Nico said, as she began to walk towards the door to pick up her shows, and begin the long trek back home to feed her siblings.

"We aren't going pro just yet Nico!" Maki corrected.

"Whatever, Mom~" Nico sarcastically replied.

As Nico disappeared down the hall, Maki could not help but wonder about why she felt uneasy about what was about to come. It had all sounded far too good to be true. Just what could anyone want with μ's so early? The uneasiness left a sinking feeling in her stomach.

' _It's probably nothing'_ Maki thought to herself. After all this was supposed to be a happy occasion, right? μ's was finally getting the recognition it deserved, and taking its first step into potentially entering the professional world.

' _Maybe'_ , she thought, _' I'm just worried about how Papa would receive it if I ended up ditching med school for a singing career'._

It made sense to her at least. Her father had been so set on her taking over the hospital, the news that she might ended up doing music instead was bound to cause considerable disappointment from her parents. Tried as she did to rationalize her feelings away that uneasiness had not left her. That feeling continued as she entered the front door of her mansion. It continued to simmer through dinner with her parents. And even as she turned into bed, the uncomfortable feeling that something ominous was approaching continued to linger as she felt herself pulled in to her nocturnal trance.

* * *

 _So that is Chapter 1 of our (hopefully) epic journey. I originally wanted to have them enter SAO from the get go, and let the show sort of unfold for their. But I decided it would better to use the first chapter to sow the seeds for some of the numerous subplots that are going to run between. I wanted to write this for a number of reasons, but I will try to limit that explanation to giving one or two reasons per chapter. First I wanted to explore and deconstruct the nature of what made_ μ's _, such an unorthodox and diversely personified group function as both friends and a unit. More over each girl has unique motivations, aspirations, and backgrounds which inform the way they interact with each other. Hanayo and Rin, for example, are childhood friends who principally rely on each other for comfort and support. They are the bedrocks to each other's confidence, and thus when the two are separated they tend to fall in to disarray in tough times. Nico and Maki, on the other hand, are a more harukyon situation. Though they tend to bicker with each other a lot, their relationship is built on an unspoken but mutual respect they have built from their contests of will so to speak. A similar analysis can be done for any of the other girls in_ μ's _, and the characters who will make their mark on the story as it progresses._

 _In any case, I hope you have enjoyed this first chapter. Leave a comment, review, and I hope you will join me for the next Chapter of_ Muses _of Aincrad: School Idol Survival!_


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